King Arthur Risen Again
by BookNut02
Summary: What happens when Arthur returns and Merlin must once again assume the role of protector. Set after the end of Season 5.
1. Chapter 1

Merlin thumped past the river, turning his head slightly to behold it; once so mighty, he never knew quite how magic faded out of the world but it had, around the time he had sealed off Camelot, when he had finally sealed the last statue of the old relm. Gwen's. But today he saw something, a shift in the water. He moved past the hedge down the bank towards the river, the water was rippling out, as though something was moving inwards.  
" _Alasuendi._ " he moved his hand towards the water, his eyes flashing like fire. A shape moved upwards, slowly it became clearer and clearer, then he realised. It was a boat, lined with wood; resting in the boat was: a cape, red with the crest of a golden dragon, a mail tunic and a single brace of shoulder armour. He pulled of his rucksack and stuffed the gear into it. He knew it was a sign, he must return to Camelot, break the magic binding the ancient Kingdom shut. His only question was simply why. Albion, or Great Britain as it was now known, was in no turmoil; but he knew what he must do. He spread his arms wide and closed his eyes, allowing the winds of magic to sweep him up, carrying him to where he willed.

He stood at the base of the hill range, anyone who passed here now simply found they had something else they must do and they would turn back. No one had stepped past this point for a thousand years. Merlin felt his eyes wet with tears, this was the place where he had bid goodbye to everything, Kilgarrah had given him his last gift here, a message, and a breath to seal the old world shut from the new. He did not open the gate, he simply fell to his knees and wept,  
" _O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes_!" he called out through choked sobs, words he had not utter in a very long time. No dragon came, he had not expected it to but he heard a voice.  
" _My last gift to you young Warlock, for even we dragons have spirits I can always be found here. Old Friend._ " the voice of Kilgarrah filled his head as the pile of rock beside him shifted to form a clear shape, a perched dragon. He turned back to the gate only to see the shimmering clear light transcend into the air, to reveal the gates to the lower town. Opened to reveal the city of Camelot in all it's glory. As the Warlock stepped over the threshold every emotion came flooding back to him.  
"Wait, Kilgarrah. You said Arthur was destined to return, no one else. Why did you tell me to make the statues?" silence. Then, in the soft wise voice,  
"Arthur was never anything without his friends, his return means their return."  
"So who's lives are paid in their turn?" he asked  
"You already know Merlin."a  
"The citizens of Albion." he said. The dragon voice fell silent.

Merlin moved up through the town, the houses and shops stood just as they had when they had been left. Without thinking he turned left down a narrow alleyway, past the blacksmiths forge and up to the wooden door. We pushed it in with a creak, everything was untouched - though it had been left long before the fall of Camelot - and the thought of all the memories here made Merlin catch a sob in his throat. As he moved upwards to the palace he passed through the courtyard and paused.  
"Camelot will rise again! And unite Albion when it breaks!" he yelled at the sky. Then more softly,  
"I'll see you again friends. Like I promised." he breathed in deeply. Then a thought, one he had not pondered in hundreds of years, crossed his mind, what if he had let Mordred die, he wouldn't have lost Arthur. He cast the thought aside and walked the stone steps into the castle. Home, he smiled as he walked through the entrance hall: the throne room, Arthur's chambers and then into the physician's chambers. Merlin welled with joy as he looked around, every book, every bottle, was exactly how he had left it. And just ahead. He pushed open the door to his old room, if he had any tears left he supposed he might have cried again; every single memory of all his life in Camelot flooded into his ancient mind.  
"I guess I'll be waiting here a while." he said to himself.

Fresh into his old robes (which had been cast on the floor for a thousand years) he decided to move down to the dungeon. He lit a light at the tip of his staff as he moved down into the chamber of the Great's. The square room bore 5 statues, represented in the likeness Merlin remembered them most fondly (before Arthur's death). To his right immediately was Sir Gawain, at the foot of his statue was a tablet, _"Strength. One of history's bravest. Fear touched him not in life may it not in death."_. Opposite Sir Gawain, to his left, was Sir Percival _"Steadfast. The strength of 10 men. The heart of 50. Grace the next relm with your passion."_ Next to Sir Gawain was an old man, with long hair and a droopy eyelid. Gaius. _"The healing hand of the world. None will ever care more. Watch over all in the heavens."_. Merlin lingered a little longer on his statue, blinking a wetness away. Opposite Gaius was Sir Lyon _"The truest of any who have or will ever live. Loyalty stronger than even Morgana. Stay true, even in the next life."_. And in the centre of the room, facing the door, Queen Guinevere. On her tablet the words were few _"The love of the once and future king and all the land."_. He bowed his head. These were the bodies of his friends, cast in an ancient magic. He looked at the faces of his friends.  
"One day you will walk these halls again with me."

That night Merlin laid back in his bed thinking, when. When will it finally come? How long would he wait for Arthur? He had left his armour in his chambers. When the 5 came back they would remember and understand, Arthur would be very confused. He had a lot of time, he decided to dedicate it to finding a plan.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. Any reviews at all are much appreciated so please do.**


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin _sat to Gwen's right._  
 _"The Great Dragon has advised me on something of great importance. When Albion's need is great Arthur will return." dumb silence._  
 _"Merlin, Arthur is dead." Sir Lyon's voice came from the left,_  
 _"Sir Lyon do you consider yourself wiser than I on such matters?"_  
 _"No, of course not."_  
 _"Arthur will rise again and he will need help. I know of a spell, when you are on your death bed I will you case you in stone, cast with a dragon's breath." Merlin looked around, 5 faces staring at him._  
 _"Merlin that's insane." laughed Gawain nervously_  
 _"I do not know why but Kilgharrah says this is what must happen if Arthur is to rise again." Percival spoke next,_  
 _"That sounds crazy to me but Merlin is the wisest of all men. If he says we need this, we need this. I am with you."_  
 _"As am I." Gaius stood up,_  
 _"And me." the Queen stood next_  
 _"And I." Gawain stood now. The table turned to Sir Lyon,_  
 _"Can't be left out now can I." he rose also._

Merlin had lost track of how many years he had been in Camelot, the magic still preserved everything but still he felt that he was a sole life in a dead city. He spent most of his days utterly devoted to finishing Gaius' work but even with unlimited time a pursuit of medicine was long and unending. One night he set aside all his books and looked out of his window. He did not know how many thousands of years it had been since he returned to Camelot, had he been wrong, should he have stayed out there? He drifted into sleep with this thought, still fully robed. When he woke the next morning he decided he must find something out. He journeyed through the lower town and to the statue of Kilgharrah.  
"How long have I been waiting and how much longer?" the silence sat for a long time but just as Merlin rose to leave the dragons voice sounded,  
"Everything of the Old Religion is in circles, because the very world itself is a cycle young Warlock."  
"What do you mean to say?"  
"This world was built for men and it falls to men."  
"You mean to say the world will soon fall?"  
"It already has Merlin, the cycle must now repeat itself, when the time is right Arthur will come."  
"I don't understand."  
"Albion's great need is simple. It must be forged once again."  
"But it will just fall again!" Merlin was growing frustrated,  
"No. It was your destiny to break the cycle with a unified Albion. Albion could not survive long without Arthur."  
"You mean to say I failed my destiny?!"  
"No, you prolonged it. I gave you every warning. You live still because you have not yet finished."  
"Mordred."  
"Yes. You should've headed my words Merlin. He will never know it but just by killing Arthur he reshaped the fate of the earth."  
"So I must wait until civilisation rises again, then brake the cycle."  
"There have been 13 cycles of this world. Creation, destruction, creation, destruction. And behind these walls, of this, most ancient place, you were protected from the end of the 13th, now the 14th begins. You have not long to wait."  
"Thank you, Kilgharrah."  
"One last thing. When the time is right the magic will break on this place and the cycle will strike you down, even if you are immortal."  
"What?" but silence had fallen.

Merlin laid back in his bed. Thinking. Even if Arthur did rise again there would be no army, no followers, just 7 people in a castle. He made a mental note to visit the dragon shrine in the morning. And with that we closed his eyes and let himself drift into sleep. The next morning he journeyed to the lower town, through the houses and shops that had once been alive with life.  
"How do I do it? Even with Arthur back we have no army, no land." he spoke directly to the shrine. The silence was longer than yesterday but eventually,  
"Merlin you will only succeed if you discover the way yourself. Only you have the power to bring back Arthur and your friends."  
"How? How do I do that?"  
"A circle has no beginning and no end."  
"Stop talking rid- wait. You mean if a circle is going one direction it is also going the other."  
"Yes Merlin."  
"I need to turn back time!"  
"For want of a better wording, yes."  
"But how? That's impossible."  
"For a mortal." silence fell. He knew what he must do, summon a god. Or rather a goddess in this case.

He had decided that it was best to travel by magic - not that he thought he would be able to leave otherwise - to the cauldron. He rested on arrival, deciding he'd need all his strength to summon the Triple Goddess. The place was serene, a sanctuary of magic in the changed world. The large blue pool sat in the base of the pale cut rock, perfectly circular and un-blemished for all of time. He waded into the pool, waist deep,  
" _Ego, Emrys magnus, et vocavi te et quarta ut in sortem in terra!_ " he called out to the cliff face. His voice echoed all around him, bouncing of the rock. Then the pool began to shift, bubbling and rippling then from the water something emerged. The water turned a godly white as, from the water, a young woman rose, a divinely pure face, hair the colour of the pool. She was nude but as he beheld her the water rose to form a pure white robe around her.  
"Emrys." her voice was like a whisper that filled his mind,  
"The god on Earth." Merlin said nothing,  
"Powers greater than even gods themselves." Merlin stood speechless  
"You have lived more than a million years Emrys, you did not come here to stare."  
"Y-ou know why I came?"  
"I know all. As do you, even if you do not know you know."  
"I am just a man." the goddess smiled and put her hands on Merlin's shoulders,  
"No, you are Emrys the great. Builder of Albion, slayer of the Highest Priestess of the earth Morgana, and the one destined to break the cycle of the Old Religion. The god on earth." Merlin's voice was caught in his throat,  
"Please, help me then. Reverse the cycle."  
"This will cost you gravely Emrys." her smile had gone and her pure whisper now sounded darker,  
"Anything."  
"You pay with your mortal soul. You will be a god on Earth forever more."  
"I will never die."  
"Not until the world itself dies, no."  
"Very well."  
"By doing this your powers will be reduced to how they were. You will recall little of this. It will be a thought, pushed to the depths of your mind till something awakens it."  
"Your price is high."  
"Your request is also."  
"Do it." she smiled again and stepped close to Merlin,  
"Only you have that power Emrys, embrace my power." she moved forward and kissed him deeply.  
" _Retrorsum._ " he whispered softly into her ear. She nodded and laid back into the water, the white light blinded him as she disappeared beneath the water.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. Any reviews at all are much appreciated so please do.**


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